Lesson Note – Week 1 Computer Studies for JSS 3
General Introduction to LeadinGuides Lesson Notes
This lesson note (guide) is based on the new Computer Studies National Curriculum for Junior Secondary School (JSS) 3 or Year 9.
The developers of our lesson note (guides) are veteran educators and professional instructional designers. While writing, they capture all three education domain viz. Cognitive, Affective and Psychomotor – setting specific objective for each, where necessary. The lesson note guides also feature step by step guidelines for delivering any topic.
These lesson note guides will be useful to all teachers especially those in Nigeria, parents who want to help their children keep up, school owners and school administrators who want their teachers to do things right.
For teachers and schools, it is important to note that the notes or guides do not favour a particular lesson plan format. Instead, each is a general suggestion that can be adapted to any format of choice – the school’s lesson plan format. The focus of the note is to provide enriched lesson content and then suggest ways of delivering such content.
Introduction to This Lesson Note
We (at LeadinGuides) have since 2014 joined forces with concerned educators to advocate the need for Career Guidance and Counselling (CGC) to be included as a subject in the national curriculum. Take statistics if you would, and see the many ‘wrong’ career decisions that Nigerian teens make at post-secondary level. You will see JAMB applicants who know too little career alternatives. It is certain, that you will also see many university students studying courses not out of choice but due to lack of alternatives. There is also the sect who is wishing they could choose another course all over again. The bold among the last sect usually drop out of a course at 300 – 400L just to start another course of interest all from the scratch.
The upshot of the lack of CGC in our schools is not good. For those that made initial wrong career choice only to change to another later on, there is loss of time and resources. And for the majority that proceeds with wrong career choices, there is little productivity of graduates. This does not stop with the individual. It also tells on the nation in general.
Our CGC curriculum is currently being test-run in some selected schools across the country. If you would like to have one for your school, please send us a mail at [email protected] or call/Whatsapp us at 08067689217.
This lesson offers opportunity for Computer Studies/Information Technology Teachers not only to open up to the students the many career opportunities in Computer Science/Information technology; but also to provide some general career guidance and counselling as well as specific career guidance and counselling in Computer Science/Information Technology. It is our hope that this lesson note (guide) will be helpful in this regard.
Should you find it helpful or not, do not forget to send us your feedback either in the comment section below or directly to our mailbox/WhatsApp number.
NOW THE GUIDE WITH KEYWORDS: Lesson Note – Week 1-Computer-Studies-JSS-3
NAME OF TEACHER:
SCHOOL:
DATE:
PERIOD:
DURATION:
AGE: 12 – 15 years
CLASS: Junior Secondary School 3/Year 9
CLASS COMPOSITION:
SUBJECT: Basic Science and Technology
THEME: Information Technology/Computer Studies
TOPIC: Career Opportunities in Computer or Computer Professionals
OBJECTIVES: At the end of the lesson, the students should have attained the following objectives:
- Cognitive – the students should be able to :
- Define Career
- Define Computer Professionals
- List and state the functions of at least ten computer professionals
- Mention the factors to consider or the steps in choosing career paths
- Mention the requirements for studying Computer Science/Information Technology at the tertiary level
- Affective – the students should be able to:
- Demonstrate likeness for careers in information and communication technology
- (interested students) Choose IT career that is suitable for them
- Pursue chosen career in information and communication technology
- Psychomotor – the students should be able to:
- Perform level-appropriate tasks as intending professional
ENTRY BEHAVIOUR
To better understand this lesson, the students should know the meaning and uses of cmputer.
Instructional Materials
For maximum impartation, the delivery of this lesson requires charts of different computer professions at work.
Method of Teaching
The teacher shall deliver this lesson by direct induction and lecturing. However, evaluation shall employ deduction method.
Learner’s Activities
The students shall actively participate in the lesson by listening, asking and answering questions.
There may also carryout level-appropriate professional tasks.
Previous Knowledge
The students know some computer professionals.
Presentation
The teacher delivers the lesson in order of steps as decribed below:
Step 1: Introduction – General Career Guidance & Counselling
The teacher starts the lesson by making the students to see the need for career guidance. After that, s/he gives the students some general career tips. The teacher does this in the folowing ways.
The Need for Career Guidance
The teacher make the students to deduce the need for career guidance by presenting the following scenarios – the dilema of tertiary institutions applicants (JAMB/UTME Candidates) in Nigeria.
However, before that the teacher initiates discussion/participation by asking each student the course they intend to study at the tertiary level. S/he may also ask them the reason they chose the course. The teacher comments on the students’ answers where necessary. If time permits, s/he may further ask them their intending second choices.
Tendencies
Tendencies are high that some of the students would not have a choice or cogent reason for the choice(s) they made. Also majority of the students may only mention common courses like Medicine and Surgery, Nursing/Nursing Science, Medical Laboratory Science, Pharmacy, Microbiology, Biochemistry, Engineering (all category), Computer Science/Engineering, Law, Economics, Accounting, Mass Communication, Business Administration, Public Administration and Political Science.
How to Handle Tendencies
In the event of either or both of the tendencies above, the teacher explains the following statistics to the students:
- Analysis of JAMB/UTME applications since 2010 reveals that out of the 630 courses choose the 15 courses I mentioned above every year.
- These students do not make these choices according on any guidances. Research shows that the common reasons for the choice of these 15 courses are:
- Seeming course prestige – the society makes it as though these courses are better than others.
- Job prospects – people make students to believe that those who study these courses have higher chances of getting job after graduation.
- Money factor – people make students believe that career in these courses lead to a more paying jobs than others.
- Lack of knowledge of alternatives – most of applicants does not know any more than the 15 common courses even though there are 630 courses.
- Outside influence – some students chooses a course because their parents, peers and family want it for them.
- Nigerian tertiary institutions have limited capacity for the 15 courses
- Because majority of applicants choose these courses, the competition for each of the 15 is twice or more than for others.
- On average, only about 15% of the total applicants for these courses are offerred admision. The rest of the 85% of those that choose these 15 common courses are not offered admision into them. Ironically, the remaining 85% are offered admission for other courses which they might not prepared. Those that accept this later offer end up pursuing careers they likely are not prepared for. Meanwhile, those that rejects the later offer may end up wasting that year – in an attempt to chase a career that they too are not sure is their calling.
Wrapping up the need for Career Guidance
After the teacher reveals these unknown dilema, s/he notes that an attempt to ease the process is the existence of Career Guidance and Counselling (CGC) – as a subject or educational service/programme in some schools. Succeeding this, the teacher gives the students some general career tips. I give and suggest some of the tips in the next section.
General Career Tips for students
Prior to the general career tips, the teacher defines and explains the meaning of Career:
Career is the work that one spends most time of his life doing from which he earns a living. Career may also mean the achievement that one attains from all life engagements.
In the first instance, the teacher notes that there are lots of career that the students can choose. Similarly in the second definition, the teacher points that one may have either a succesful or an unsuccesful career.
Thence the teacher explains that the following are tips which will likely help them make right choices and to attain successful career.
1. Understand that every man is unique, in nature and in calling
First, the teacher teaches that every man is unique both in nature and in calling. There are things that each human can naturally do very well. And there are things that each human cannot naturally do very well. There are things that one human will do and be happy doing it. And these things which make one man excited may not necessarily excite another man. The teacher continues that for this reason, it is a duty upon all men that want to succeed to identify their uniqueness – in nature and calling. And when a man wants to do this, it is very important that s/he cannot be another person because all men are unique – don’t pick a course because some else picked it, you are two different person.
- Know yourself
Following the latest explanation, the teacher follows that since every man is unique, to find the course that is suitable for one; such must know himself/herself. Teacher should note that complete self study for career choice is best done under independent career guidance and counselling programme – such as the one we suggested in our CGC curriculum or other mentoring programs. However, for the purpose of this class I recommend the following. That the second step in the process– for students who may have access to special CGC programme – is to
- Course and career research
- Make empirical decision
- Make institution research
This note is being developed. Check back for updates